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In the same way He took the cup, after having dined, saying, This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is being poured out for you.” Luke 22:19-20 “And He took bread and gave thanks, and He broke it and gave it to them, saying, This is My body which is given for you, this do in remembrance of Me. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” And He took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink all of it. Matthew 26:26-29 “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat, this is My body. And He said to them, This is My blood of the New Covenant, which is poured out for many.” And taking the cup, giving thanks, He gave to them. Here is what the writers of the New Testament wrote concerning the subject of communion: In the gospel of Mark 14:22-24 “And as they ate, Jesus took a loaf and blessed and broke it, and He gave to them and said, Take, eat this is My body. Also we are thanking God for the work He has done in His son Jesus Christ and we are living a life of thankfulness for every blessing that God is bestowing on us. First because our Lord gave thanks over the bread and the cup before blessing them. This idea of thankfulness is very important to the whole process because it is the reason why we come together at every Liturgy. It’s important to note the technical name of communion is Eucharist, coming from the greek “evkharistia” meaning to thank. This point is so powerful that whenever a priest is ordained in the Orthodox Church the bishop hands him a portion of the holy communion and commands the priest with these words “keep this until the second coming of our Lord.” It is in keeping with this spirit of being a steward called to watch over these mysteries that I will speak to you about Holy Communion. Paul writes in his first letter to the Christians of Corinth “So let a man think of us as ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Corinthians 4:1). What happens in a sacrament can never be fully defined by the human mind since it is a gift from God and His ways are high above our understanding. So with all that in mind we can begin a small study of this subject.Ībove all it is important to remember that communion is a sacrament and that the Greek word for sacrament is mysterion….mystery. It will help us to answer questions such as “What must I do to receive communion? and “why is it that only Orthodox may receive communion in an Orthodox church?” Also studying helps us to understand why we participate in communion, as well as the effect communion has on a Christian. There are many reasons to study this subject. Why should we study the subject of Holy Communion? The others being Baptism, Chrismation, Confession, Holy Unction, Marriage and Sacramental Priesthood. Holy Communion is one of seven sacraments of the Orthodox Church.
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